News Articles

For those who didn't read the article, here's the full bile of a blog of a particularly butt hurt Simon Reed dismissing Andy's win and telling us all that we should as a nation thank Del Potro for Andy's win.

I'm happy to ignore that kind of thing. Clicking on the links only encourages them to write more of the same.

There is one particular anonymous reply that tears strips off that fool. I wrote it in a fit of disgust. It's only anonymous because I made a mess of registering ages ago and I'm too bone idle to change it.

Found this a good article.I know from the headline it sounds like it's all about whether or not Andy should receive a knighthood,but that really only comes into it a little bit.(Personally,I think Andy should definitely get one sometime,but whether now or in the future,I'm not sure which would be better.Not too fussed about it,I suppose,and I expect our man isn't either,not at the moment anyway!)Anyway,I found it a really good read,and loved hearing what Andy had to say about his future,working hard with Ivan for the USO etc

Murray is a very ordinary living legend, but Knighthoods are for old men... for now the Wimbledon winner has too much to do

The history man stood squinting in the July sunshine, a very ordinary living legend.

Grey. Only Andy Murray could turn up on his first morning as Wimbledon champion in a grey sports top and jeans, dressed down to the nines. Then again, maybe only a player so utterly unaffected by occasion could hold it together as he did in that third set against Novak Djokovic.

So often Cinderella in the final of Grand Slam tournaments, Murray at last went to the ball. He had spent the night at the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane, home to Wimbledon's Champions Dinner.

He had been invited the previous year, as beaten finalist, too, but losers do not wish to while the night away in the company of a rival holding the trophy.

This year it was Djokovic's turn to politely decline and Murray arrived, dinner suit and broadest smile at the ready, just before midnight.

He stayed two hours, and continued celebrating for an hour after. Then he crashed out.

'It was lovely, they do it really well,' he said, even though the menu of salmon and halibut was not quite to his liking. He would have preferred his usual sushi and considered nipping away to Nobu next door to indulge.

That would appear rude, though, and the one thing Murray is not is impolite. He visited Nobu last night instead, with his team. It will take a while to come down from this. And then he will get back to work.

Murray began his round of interviews at 8am yesterday and was still going close to midday. The exhaustion was plain, but so was his relief at having reached the summit of professional ambition. No more worlds to conquer?

Hardly. As befits a scion of Dunblane, there is a puritan work ethic that is the backbone of all Murray achieves.

He handled 49.8 degree temperatures on Centre Court because he trains in Miami heat in the summer.

He has battered Djokovic into submission twice now, because his gym work is relentless.

Sports Personality of the Year? Murray will send his thanks from a training camp on the other side of the world.

Sir Andy Murray? He isn't even sure he deserves it, yet.

And if there was ever a thought of ease, he has the scowling Ivan Lendl in his corner, and self-appointed mentor Sir Alex Ferguson, following his every move.

'I don't know how I'll respond until I get back on the practice court or in the gym,' said Murray. 'But it's the people around you that are the key to that.

'I know in Ivan's head that he is not content with how the last 18 months have gone. He will think I could have won the Australian Open and he'll train me really hard in Miami to retain the US Open.

'That's huge, having someone in your corner who was the ultimate competitor. He had such consistency as a player, he loved winning, he made eight consecutive US Open finals - there was no let up from him. Surround yourselves with the right people and they'll be honest with you and stop a problem happening.'

The fear is that Murray has reached a personal pinnacle that will be hard to match. After the London Olympics a number of his fellow Team GB gold medallists admitted they found it hard to get going again, such was the peak of excitement.

For Murray, despite his achievement, there was still the small matter of a Grand Slam to win. That yearning ended in New York. Yet Wimbledon remained.

Now he has banished that spectre, too, amid scenes never before witnessed on Centre Court. Even Murray knows that, whatever follows, his greatest day may well have gone.

'I'll never top that,' he added. 'Anything I do now, I'll never have that same pressure, that same expectation, that same release after the match. When I finished the US Open I couldn't sleep for two days, and I didn't feel tired. On Sunday I came off the court and within 45 minutes I was spent, I couldn't move, I was so exhausted.

'Subconsciously, everything that goes on with Wimbledon, the pressure, the tension, the questions and the build-up, not just now but for seven years, took its toll.

'I hope I don't lose that hunger and my plan is to use this experience as motivation. I know what it is like to lose a Wimbledon final, and to win one - and it's a lot better winning one.

'I'll go away on holiday and try to get rest because the last few weeks have been pretty stressful and tough - then get back in training for the US Open. I may never win another one but I'll keep working as hard as I can to try for it - that's the fun.'

It may amuse now, but it looked like torture at the time. Despite his tiredness, Murray revealed he had struggled to sleep overnight, having visualised winning Wimbledon so many times in his dreams.

A rational being, usually, he genuinely feared he would wake up and it would be the morning of the final, the previous 24 hours a figment of a wild imagination. He's right. He needs to get some rest, poor soul.

'Once I get back on the match court I hope I'll feel more relaxed,' he added. 'I felt calmer after the US Open, and this is much, much better. Wimbledon is difficult for me, because it is such a big deal you literally cannot escape.

'When the news is on, or if you just want to watch the tennis, during most matches something will get mentioned about me and the final. I don't look at newspapers, I try to stay off the internet and away from my phone - and that's unnatural but necessary. There is enough pressure trying to win as it is, without consuming what the rest of the country is feeling. I know the gist of what is being said by what I am asked in the press conferences anyway.

'I knew when Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer got knocked out that people thought I should get to the final. Maybe that pressure will change now - but I hope it won't change my expectations. When I go to the US Open, I'll still go to win. I'm not going to be just content.'

It could have been another driven Scot talking. Such is this nation's fixation with football, it has felt at times as if Sir Alex Ferguson was about to win Wimbledon, the coverage of his friendship with Murray bordering on the obsessive.

Yet, without doubt, the words of one of sport's most relentless individuals have been a crucial factor at this tournament.

Yesterday, trophy won, Murray was at last prepared to reveal the 'gold dust' advice Ferguson gave him prior to his semi-final with Jerzy Janowicz - but it said as much about what motivates him as it did about managerial genius.

'One of the things he built his teams on was consistency and concentration,' explained Murray. 'He said that if you can concentrate throughout the match, you'll gain the consistency. That was something I tried to do anyway - but it emphasises it more when he says it to you.'

Concentrate? That was it? In many ways, it shows what Murray has really needed all these years. Confidence and the reinforcement of basic principles by men he admires. Lendl told him to hit his forehands harder. Basic stuff, but coming from Lendl, Murray listened.

Did Ferguson get him to concentrate more or did Murray simply believe he had been given some magical insight and this helped build the confidence he needed to survive the exquisite agony of Sunday's match?

More tangible is that Ferguson leads by example. He could not make it to the final because he is on a short cruise around the coast of Scotland. 'It's amazing, it's something he has always wanted to do and it only takes 10 days, but he's never done it in his life because he never took that time off,' marvelled Murray.

'It's an unbelievable work ethic and such a long space of time - spend 15 minutes with him and you'll see. He's a really impressive guy.'

And that, deep down, is all Murray has ever wanted to be. An impressive guy. Making an impression on his sport and his town; making an impression on the record books, making an impression on history.

The text messages that meant most to him were not from the Prime Minister's office or celebrity pals, but from fellow tennis professionals and obscure coaches, because they know the challenge he took on, survived, and won.

'When I'm done I'll be remembered as a tennis player,' he said. 'So I want to gain respect within my industry.'

He did that long ago. Now he has the respect of a nation, maybe even the knighthood proposed by Prime Minister David Cameron. He seemed genuinely uncomfortable at the thought and rightly so. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but there is plenty of time for that when this glorious career is over.

Knighthoods are for old men; for now Murray has too much to do. The history man is far from exhausted. There can be many, many days every bit as grey as this.

“I’m in a different position to Andy Murray, he said. “He’s been very solid, but it’s just him and his racket. There are so many elements in racing – the car, the suspension, the electronics, the engine, the tyres – that have to be performing for you. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the same head zone as Murray, it all gets taken away by the tyres.”----------------

I also remember Bradley Wiggins slating people for watching the 2012 Wimbledon final over the TdF. What was it he said? "Tennis is nothing. It only lasts one and a half hours."----------------

It seems we didn't need to wait on Andy winning the trophy. We should just have handed a racquet to Hamilton or Wiggins.

“I’m in a different position to Andy Murray, he said. “He’s been very solid, but it’s just him and his racket. There are so many elements in racing – the car, the suspension, the electronics, the engine, the tyres – that have to be performing for you. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the same head zone as Murray, it all gets taken away by the tyres.”

LMFAO they can win just by having a better car than the rest of the field, which is nothing even to do with them ... F1 is far, far from a level playing field, I would hardly even consider F1 a proper sport because of this.

I also remember Bradley Wiggins slating people for watching the 2012 Wimbledon final over the TdF. What was it he said? "Tennis is nothing. It only lasts one and a half hours."

Cycling is nothing, it's just some guys making their legs rotate for a long period of time. Little skill, little pressure, little excitement. And 1 and a half hours lol, has he even watched grand-slam tennis?

Lol motor racing a sport Cycling certainly is though- silly old Wiggo Obviously Simon Reed has completely forgotten how Nole has played 5 setter semis and then 5 setter finals and wonMuch more likely we should be thanking Rafa for winning RG.

Can do without Simon sour grapes Reed thanks. Can't stand his eurosport commentary and dont' care a fig what he has to say now.This isn't news but in yesterday's Independent the main letters section was devoted to andy.The first letter was rather nationalistic (which I'm not into) starting 'at this moment, all over the world, Brits are looking at foreigners and saying "Andy Murray" with pride'. The one I really liked went: 'I wish to complain about the Monday 8 July issue of The Independnet. It had 19 pages dedicated to Andy Murray's victory at wimbledon. That wasn't enough!'I don't think I'd realised just how mad the media would go when Andy won it.

The Lewis Hamilton article is a farce, again journos taking what someone says and then making a sensationalist headline about it to get people to read it.

I expect normal service to resume once Andy loses a match again, the press that have raised him up as the second coming of British sport will once again act like vultures picking at a seemingly dead carcass with crass headlines.